Cornyn Law Provides Critical De-Escalation Training for Law Enforcement & Mental Health Professionals Working With Them
Senator John Cornyn
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) will meet with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, and community leaders on Tuesday at Houston City Hall to discuss Sen. Cornyn’s Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act, which was just signed into law on December 27, 2022.
Sen. Cornyn will participate in a roundtable discussion highlighting how the new law will help equip local and state law enforcement agencies with funding for specialized de-escalation training for officers and mental health professionals. During the roundtable, Houston leaders will also discuss how the Task Force on Police Reform appointed by Mayor Turner in 2020 has supported the Houston Police Department’s (HPD) increased de-escalation training efforts.
Additionally, participants will share how the successful collaboration between local law enforcement, mental health providers, and community advocates has helped develop effective training programs and responses that can be used as a national example for other jurisdictions to follow. Sen. Cornyn and Mayor Turner will observe a virtual demonstration of de-escalation training techniques taught to HPD cadets and current officers during the roundtable, and then will hold a press conference.
In 2020, Sen. Cornyn and Mayor Turner met with Houston area leaders after George Floyd’s death where they sought solutions to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Input from that discussion was incorporated as Sen. Cornyn developed the Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act. Among the reforms, the new law authorizes $124 million in federal grant funding over four years for expanded training to equip law enforcement officers and mental health professionals working with them in de-escalation tactics and alternatives to use of force. Following the President signing the bill into law in late December, the U.S. Department of Justice is currently implementing the new law which directs the agency to first identify and develop de-escalation training curricula with input from law enforcement, mental health providers, civil rights and civil liberties organizations, and other community advocates. Once the curricula are finalized, the grant funding will be made available to state and local law enforcement agencies to train their officers using the curricula.
WHO: U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner
Troy Finner, Chief of Police, Houston Police Department
Craig Bellamy, Commander–Training Division, Houston Police Department
Crystal Okorafor, Deputy Inspector General, City of Houston’s Office of Policing Reform and Accountability
Doug Griffith, President, Houston Police Officers Union/Sr. Police Officer
Brenda LaVar, Board President, National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Houston
Larry Payne, Chair, Mayor Turner’s Task Force on Police Reform
Bishop James Dixon II, Pastor, Community of Faith Church & President, NAACP Houston Branch
Judson Robinson III, President & CEO, Houston Area Urban League
WHEN: Tuesday, February 21, 2023
10:15am CT – Roundtable begins (b-roll opportunity)
11:15am CT – Press conference
WHERE: Houston City Hall
Legacy Room, 1st Floor
901 Bagby Street
Houston, TX 77002